England have dropped Marcus Smith for Sunday's Six Nations clash against Italy at Twickenham with Elliot Daly replacing him as coach Steve Borthwick makes three changes to the line-up that began the narrow victory over Scotland.

England keen to ‘unleash’ Marcus Smith late on after dropping him to the bench - Fraser Dingwall has also been recalled for his first Test appearance in a year in place of Henry Slade.

Marcus Smith took his demotion on the chin according to boss Steve Borthwick – who then handed the Harlequin a licence to thrill against Italy on Sunday, if he gets on. The benched 26-year-old has paid the price for defensive lapses in England’s 16-15 win over Scotland and his side’s inability to get him involved in attack.